Each October
in Upstate New York, the leaves put on quite a show. And so does Manhattan interior designer Brad Ford and his team. In the small town of Kingston, they pitch elegant white tents that rise in uniform peaks like a well-whipped meringue against the rustic backdrop of the Hutton Brickyards. e Hudson River rolls by and thousands of folks roll into his Field + Supply fair to explore the handwrought work of a carefully curated group of makers and artisans that Ford has invited to show and sell.
Celebrities from the A-list mingle with the crowd at the exhibit Ford launched in 2014. Paul Rudd, Gisele, Al Roker, Sofia Coppola, and the like have made their way to the event, which has gained a cultlike following. But this year, Ford drew the ultimate fairgoer. “It was the first time Martha Stewart has attended and hands-down to me she is the most important,” Ford says. “She is the grande dame of craft. We had the opportunity to have lunch and it really was such an incredible experience to be able to talk to her. She’s so knowledgeable about this world.”
Ford himself has been immersed in the world of craft since he was a creative kid living in small-town Russellville, Arkansas, taking in local shows with his mom. “I grew up going to arts and crafts fairs,” he says. “Really, my first exposure to design was those types of affairs. So, I’ve always had a warm feeling, if you will, thinking about those craft fairs as an adult and always longing for what that would look like now, having been exposed to high design in the city. I wanted to recreate that experience but in a more modern way with interesting makers.”
Ford followed a winding route from childhood to noted New York interior designer. His mom took note of his creative bent and signed him up for art classes from a young age. But beyond that dabbling, seeing a creative avenue for himself was murky. “Coming from a small town, there was just no guidance on anything in a creative field,” he says. “I can remember distinctly the guidance counselor in high school, when it came time to talk about colleges, basically presenting two options: You could either major in business or elementary ed and that was that.”
So, he chose the business route, earning a degree and a position at a large computer company. He thought he was on his way. en he bought a lot in a local development and had a say in his first home’s design. It lit a spark. “It was a very small house in a very small neighborhood,” Ford recalls, “but it was exciting for me nonetheless because
“THE IDEA WAS TO CREATE AN ELEVATED EXPERIENCE, NOT AN EXCLUSIVE ONE.
I WANT EVERYONE TO FEEL LIKE THEY CAN
BE A PART OF AND ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE
ITSELF. WHETHER THEY WALKED AWAY
WITH A BEAUTIFUL DINING TABLE OR A
REALLY GREAT JAR OF HONEY, I WANTED
EVERYBODY TO HAVE A TAKEAWAY.” - BRAD FORD
“I’VE ALWAYS HAD A WARM FEELING, IF YOU WILL,
THINKING ABOUT THOSE CRAFT FAIRS AS AN ADULT
AND ALWAYS LONGING FOR WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK
LIKE NOW, HAVING BEEN EXPOSED TO HIGH DESIGN IN
THE CITY AND RECREATING THAT EXPERIENCE BUT IN A
MORE MODERN WAY WITH INTERESTING MAKERS.” - BRAD FORD
I really started to realize how much I liked the process. From the space planning to selecting the materials and then eventually furnishing the house, I just really was so passionate about it.”
At the time, he says, “It sounds hilarious but any perception I had of interior design was the local furniture store and people there helping you pick out furniture.” Still, he found his way to an interior designer in Conway, Arkansas, named George Anderson, who held forth in a small office—and held a degree from Parsons School of Design. Ford popped in for advice, “and the first thing he said was, ‘Move to New York City.’”
So, he did. He quit his job, rented out his house, and sold his car. “It’s so funny now, but I just thought it was the end of the world that I was having to start my career over again at the age of 23,” he says. “But after six months of feeling blue about that, I headed to the Fashion Institute of Technology, which was a good fit for me because they had
housing. I thought it was a nice way into the city.”
From there the path cleared in a big way, and soon the young design graduate was landing on up-and-coming lists and, ultimately, finding his way to the high end of New York design. He’s known for his understated interiors— an aesthetic he thinks is aptly described as “modern with a warm soul.”
Not surprisingly, handcrafted pieces are an integral part of that signature. “I think, at the end of the day, people just love the narrative around something that’s handmade,” he says. “ese pieces have a story that something from Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn just don’t. ere’s a place for all of those things, but I do think that anything that is made by hand just instantly brings a certain level of interest and soul to a space.”
His semi-annual Field + Supply events, typically held each May and October, are the happy result of his warm fuzzies for the crafts fairs of his youth and his evolved appreciation for makers who excel at their art. His humble background combined with a well-honed eye may be the secret sauce that not only explains the fair’s popularity—what started with two dozen vendors has grown to 200 in seven years—but also made it a key catalyst for the modern maker movement.
“At those early fairs in Arkansas one thing that always stood out to me was this sense of community,” he says, something that was missing from New York City shows he found to be too serious and a bit snooty. “It was so much fun to see people and learn about their work. I wanted to recreate that idea of a happening and capture that spirit.”
From the beginning it was important for Ford to engage all the senses, and he set the scene with live music, fire pits to gather around, and delicious food. Now it is the “happening” he envisioned, drawing not just the celebs but locals, international fans, and cross-country travelers. “e idea was to create an elevated experience, not an exclusive one,” Ford says. “I want everyone to feel like they can be a part of and enjoy the experience itself. Whether they walked away with a beautiful dining table or a really great jar of honey, I wanted everybody to have a takeaway.”
To find the right makers, Ford first turned to artists whose work populated his own home and design projects, “and then they may have a friend and then those friends have friends.” In that way, he gathered not only the top tier of artists, but a like-minded network of folks who would also contribute to the vibe. “e work has to be interesting and of great quality,” he says, “but it’s important for me that the makers who come into the fold have a beautiful spirit that matches the work. We certainly don’t want any drama. We definitely want the people involved to have the right energy as well.”
In the most recent show—the first in-person event after it was sidelined to the online world at the start of the pandemic—the spirit was dialed in to joyful mode and the enthusiasm set on high. Attendance was up and so were sales. People were undoubtedly happy to be gathering at an outdoor event after several months of being pent up—and hoping to find a meaningful, beautiful something to grace the spaces they’d been pent up in. And then there was Martha to add the perfect icing.
For more information, click over to FieldandSupply.com.